Daniel Cormier thinks Justin Gaethje should focus on the title, not Conor McGregor.
Gaethje (25-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC) caught McGregor’s attention after he knocked out Dustin Poirier and claimed the “BMF” title Saturday in the UFC 291 main event.
Gaethje wasn’t warm to the idea at first, but then called for McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) to sign on the dotted line. But Cormier says a title fight is all Gaethje should think about because it’s an opportunity that may not come again.
“Title fight – it’s title fight or bust for me,” Cormier said on “DC & RC.” “This guys needs to be able to fight for a championship because that’s all he did, and that’s all he wants to do. He said last week or last time he fought against (Rafael) Fiziev that it was one more run at a championship opportunity. Well now, that is happening. It’s happening right now, the ability to fight the winner of (Charles) Oliveira vs. (Islam) Makhachev, and I think he’s better prepared for it now.
“Because when you watch him in the Fiziev fight, and you watch him in the fight last weekend (vs. Poirier), this guy is a better version of himself and he said for the first time, he had no nerves. He said that’s why he was looking into the crowd, trying to find a way to make himself feel something. He was so at ease and calm inside the octagon. But, he is the No. 1 contender and rightfully so.”
Cormier sees a lot of improvements from Gaethje since he fell short in title fights against Khabib Nurmagomedov and Charles Oliveira. “The Highlight” is coming off back-to-back wins over Rafael Fiziev, and Poirier, where he showed off a more composed version of himself.
“He’s the guy that should be challenging for a championship, and he’s also a guy that took a round from Khabib Nurmagomedov,” Cormier said. “So if he did that, you imagine he has the ability to go do the same to Islam Makhachev, but trying to apply some of the lessons that ultimately cost him to the fight against Makhachev, or Oliveira – the guy he hurt very bad the first time they fought.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 291.
Daniel Cormier: It should be UFC ‘title fight or bust’ for Justin Gaethje, not Conor McGregor
